Here's my two cents and for some it will be worth just about that.
First, pens are sort of the exception. There are very few other wood items I would consider putting a CA finish on.
But pens are unique because for most folks they are almost a statement of wealth and perhaps even fastidiousness, as well as a piece of jewelry.
Does a $60.00 pen perform significantly better than a $15.00 pen? Or even a $3.00 Bic? I don't think so. People don't buy handmade pens because they are superior writing instruments.
And they don't buy them for the wood either...there isn't enough wood in a pen to to convey much of the richness of the wood nor the tactile beauty of the wood.
So why do they buy them? You have to consider and understand that.
Customers do buy small items like pens because of the way they catch the eye. A CA finish is deep. Because you can "look into it," so to speak, it enhances the grain of the wood in a way that a "flatter" finish cannot. But it's colour variations and such that the customer is interested in. Nine times out of ten if you ask a customer what wood his pen is made out of after several months, he won't even remember. I've had customers walk out of my shop...with a brand new pen...and not know what the wood is.
What's more, a pen that has a shellac baased finish or some other "natural" finish picks up grime and sweat from the hands almost as if it were a magnet. Some people call this "patina." And on a bowl it might be, but on a pen it's just dirt.
For those selling at craft fairs and such...try this experiment...make two pens (or a series of pens) in which one is finshed with CA and the other is finished with a "natural" finish--same woods. I wouldn't hesitate to bet that, displayed side-by-side, with no "hype" from the maker, the CA pens will out sell the "natural" pens three to one.
And as Mac suggested, for every "natural" pen you sell, you will risk losing a customer for custom pens...yours or anyone else's...if that pen looks like crap six weeks down the road.
Just some thoughts....